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Port of Longview Environmental Director Lisa Hendriksen tells the port's commissioners about a climate strategy to help prepare for increased environmental risks. Galvanized Pvc Coated Wiggle Wire
A draft plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks is being considered by the Port of Longview commissioners, with data showing most pollution from the port comes from transportation and equipment use.
The Climate Action Plan was first proposed in 2020 in hopes of making the port more environmentally friendly while still appealing to new businesses. Port of Longview commissioners heard the first draft of the plan during Wednesday's meeting, with plans to get feedback from the State Environmental Policy Act public comment period by Oct. 3.
Most recent data from the port shows that as of 2019 the port emitted 1,305 metric tons of carbon dioxide from its on-site operations, 65% of which comes from off-road mobile combustion equipment and 19% from on-road mobile combustion equipment.
The draft plan honed in on this fact, said Lisa Hendriksen, Port of Longview's planning and environmental director. Most actionable changes currently proposed will include electrifying equipment like forklifts, cranes, excavators and sweepers. But the first step is to take a deep look at the port's current infrastructure and where changes can be made, she said.
"This is an interim plan, so we're starting out at square one," Hendriksen said.
Because the port focused on its own operations, the data collected on greenhouse gas emissions does not account for any business operations from entities not directly owned by the port.
Diane Dick, an environmental advocate who spoke during Wednesday's public commissioner meeting, said this leaves out important sources of pollution: marine vessels and railways, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has listed as the two of the main sources of port pollution.
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"You are the ones who are bringing in the enlargement of the Industrial Rail Corridor," Dick told commissioners. "You're improving your berths so that you can bring in more vessel traffic, and you can bring in more rail. That is all going to increase your emissions. And yet you just you choose to ignore all of them and take no responsibility."
The climate plan worked to address climate risks and set goals that were within the means of the port, Hendriksen said. They had to work in what was financially feasible and scalable, she said.
"We just currently do not have the capabilities to look at everything coming into the port, and that is maybe a future thing down the road that we come back to, and we take that into account," Hendriksen said.
If the port continued operations as normal, greenhouse gases would likely go up by 20%, or 1,559 metric tons carbon dioxide by 2050, according to data from the port. This would mostly come from the emissions generated from transportation and equipment — if the port decided not to hybridize or totally electrify any of it.
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But if they did go through with efforts to find alternative fuels, data predicts the emissions would go down by 80% by 2050.
The Climate Action Strategy draft also focused on which risks the port is most likely to face as temperatures rise in the next several decades. For the Columbia River and the surrounding areas, the region faces the highest chances of flooding, extreme rainfall and extreme heat.
The main risks — flooding, rainfall and extreme heat — could have "catastrophic impact" on the port's navigation aids and river information services, dredging and disposal systems, turning basin, terminals, levees, the waterfront and revetments. Wildfires could also result in a "moderate" impact, according to the draft action plan.
The planned schedule for implementing the approved Climate Action Strategy includes establishing energy efficiency by 2030, transitioning from diesel to alternative fuels by 2040 and hybridizing all equipment by 2050.
A report has said the regional 2021 heat wave likely caused more deaths than originally thought.
In the short term, much of the strategy would include mapping specific flood risks along the Columbia River and evaluating the port's current infrastructure and how it would handle major climate events between now and 2030.
By 2030, the port would use some of this analysis to create a flood management plan, find and electrify the equipment most sensitive to failure and construct more concrete plans that would need to be made to avoid catastrophic effects of floods, heat and rainfall.
20% increase of greenhouse gases if the port continued operations as normal.
80% decrease of emissions if the port found alternative fuels for its equipment like forklifts and cranes.
Dick said the current draft strategy does not have enough specifics about how the port will address climate risks, or how it will implement some of these longer-term goals. She also said the port could have done better with community outreach.
"This is something that needs to go out to the whole community," Dick said. "Climate change does not just affect people a half mile around here. It affects the whole community, not to mention the region."
The commissioners are expected to vote on a final climate plan later in October, Hendriksen said.
Sydney Brown is a news reporter for The Daily News covering education and environmental issues in Cowlitz County.
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Port of Longview Environmental Director Lisa Hendriksen tells the port's commissioners about a climate strategy to help prepare for increased …
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